Newsletter

4 die in military crash near US base in Africa

A sailor from Columbus and an airman from Newnan have been killed, according to reports from the Department of Defense.

Petty Officer 1st Class Paris S. Pough, 40, of Columbus died Feb. 17 during a port visit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Pough, a hull technician, was assigned to the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), home-ported in San Diego, Calif.

Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock, 29, of Newnan was aboard a reconnaissance plane that crashed six miles from the only U.S. base in Africa, killing four service members. Whitlock was with the 34th Special Operations Squadron.

Amy Oliver, public affairs director of the Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing, said the single-engine, fixed-wing U-28A was returning from a mission in support of the Afghanistan war.